Ghost of the past
by Striker205
Summary: Ghost is an ancient being that wanders the galaxy, guided by his intuition and the force as he searches for his ultimate purpose. This is my first proper try at an OC, and will most likely be slow to get updated.
1. Prologue

The sound of rain splattering against the ground cut through the quiet night on one of the galaxies many mid rim planets. The rhythmic splatter of the rain was replaced every now and again by the crack of a lightning bolt as it lit up the sky with it's purple fire. It was through the streets of a city under such conditions that Ghost walked, his hands in the pockets of his black-brown trench coat. Through his pockets he felt the emptiness where his blasters would normally sit, he had discarded them, along with his rifle. He did not need them today.

Smog filled the air as he made his way down the muddy street and towards the cities outskirts, the few people he passed wearing masks to protect themselves from the smogs toxic fumes. Normally any newcomer to the planet would have reeled from the putrid fumes, but Ghost had been here before many times, more than he cared to count. It was rare for someone in his profession to visit a place more than once, for the sake of caution. Usually he stuck to this trend, but this place was one of the few exceptions he made, out of personal interest.

After minutes of traveling through the beat down streets of the cities outermost structures he arrived at a vast open field. This was the only place remotely near the city that grass grew, and it's blades could be seen swaying between the still structures one would identify as gravestones. Ghost stood at the edge of the field for some time, staring out over the rows and rows of graves that extended as far, and indeed further than one without aid could see at twilight. After what seemed like hours to Ghost he stepped over the dividing line and into the field, walking silently down the rows, the only sound throughout the field being the rain that had been falling for hours now.

As he traveled down the path the gravestones got progressively newer. The ones at the start had been no more than crumbling piles of rock, while the ones he reached now had retained most of their form, along with their engravings. Here he stopped, turning slightly to his right and stepping off the laid path, proceeding to travel between the rows of gravestones in silence. With each step he took time seemed to slow a little, the sounds and senses of everything round him dulling at the same time. Eventually he stopped, then after a minute of looking straight ahead he turned to his left and looked down, resting his gaze on a pair of graves.

The engravings on these gravestones were somewhat smudged, making them difficult to read, along with the fact they were in a long dead language, one that few throughout the galaxy would recall. Though he scanned over the words through instinct, he did not translate or process them, he knew what they said, and he had no wish to read them again. There was only one part of the engraving he paid any attention to, these ones far newer and clearly visible, though in the same language. To all but those few it would seem like inconsequential scribblings, but to those who could understand it read, "They're songs have ended, but have not been forgotten".

He stood there for he knew now how long, paying no attention to the passage of time as he remembered why he had come, why he always came, the nightmares. They were waiting there for him whenever he sought rest, whenever void like silence surrounded him, and most of all, when he tried to forget. As he stood like a statue and thought time passed in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it dawn had come to greet this side of the planet, fresh and rosy fingered as always.

As the light struck his eyes Ghost blinked, returning from his trance as he watched light creep it's way over the horizon and towards the city. It was time to leave, dawn signaled his imminent departure. Before he left, however, he pulled from his pocket a flower, it's petals a deep red, and it's center a bright yellow. It was not native to this planet, nor this part of the galaxy, nay not even the galaxy itself. When he first woke it had taken him half a century to find it's growing grounds, but now he did not regret the time he had spent searching for it.

He set the blossom down gently in the center of the two graves, watching the edges of it's petals as they started to shift color, the red lightening to become orange. With the flower in place he took his leave, departing the graveyard and returning to the polluted city, eventually finding his way off planet to once again travel the galaxy at large. But no matter how far he would travel, no matter how long it took him to return, they would be waiting, the dead always were.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Search

Darkness, eternal darkness broken only by slight shafts of light that miraculously found their way down from higher levels. This was most of what Ghost could see as he walked through one of Coruscant's lowest levels, any lower and he, and indeed most life wouldn't be able to survive. Down at these levels nothing looked the same as it did above, none of the soaring skyscrapers of the highest level, none of 1313's gang dens and run down buildings, only vast stretches of blank metal supporting the city above. There had once been life here, and indeed the ruined settlements of such inhabitants could still be found, but rarely. Down here you didn't have to worry about gangs, they had all left this level a long time ago, along with any kind of government interference. This was a true no man's land, there was no food, no water, and creatures that hadn't seen the light of day for millennia.

At his current position Ghost was hundreds of meters above what you would call ground, making his way along a staircase that protruded out of one of the massive metal pillars. Every now and again the pillar itself would shake slightly, and though it had no effect on the city above, it could be readily felt due to Ghost's proximity. Due to the shaking progress was slow, and he had to pause in his decent as they came on, riding them out from his delicate perch.

It was during one such shake that he had sat down on a step with his supply bag, and found himself reminiscing on why he had come down here in the first place, it most certainly wasn't a vacation after all. No, he had found his way down here because something, possibly his intuition, possibly the force, had led him down here, he knew not which. In either case, he knew what he was meant to be doing here, he was looking for someone. He had no idea who this person was, no idea what they looked like, nothing. Whoever they were, he was sure he'd never met them before, even from the period of his life which he couldn't remember. This hadn't stopped him from spending the last 200 years of his life searching for them, however.

Most would think him insane for pursuing such a venture, it did nothing to advance his position in life, nothing to bring him happiness, nothing to help him learn. All it did was make him tired, tired of continuing a search that seemingly had no end. But despite this, he continued on, somewhat to spite those who thought him stupid, somewhat wanting to find the end. But most of all because he knew it was what he had to do. Fate, destiny, call it what you will, that was the only thing that truly drove him, the feeling that what he was doing would do something, help someone in the end.

He was interrupted in his thinking as the pillar stopped shaking, causing not only the vibrations to stop, but the sound that came with them. Without the noise of the pillar this place was as silent as the grave, broken only when distant pillars took their turn to shake, or when the distant clangs of some unknown entity echoed off the gargantuan pillars. He hated it, he hated the quiet, it reminded him all too much of the millennia he had spent in such conditions, the silence that heralded something out of his control. Unwilling to bare it any longer he stood from the step where he had seated himself and continued moving down the stairs, the sound of his own footsteps providing much welcome sound.

After hours of traversing the staircase he eventually found himself on the endless flat plain that provided the barrier between this level and the next. Looking round at the empty space he felt this uneasiness in his stomach grow, though this wasn't his first time in such a place, it didn't make it any easier. Reaching into his pocket he drew a small device which he then set down on the bottom most step of the staircase, the device itself giving of a reassuring clink as it magnetized to the metal surface. With his marker in place, Ghost turned and faced south, though he didn't know the direction himself, only that he felt it would yield the best, or perhaps only results. After a second of doubt he set off at a steady pace, keeping his direction true as he trudged into the darkness.

He didn't know how long it had been, he hadn't been keeping track, but if he had, he would have known that 3 days had passed. He was now nearing another of the countless pillars, though this once was slightly different. Where the pillar would usually merge flawlessly with the flat surface below it, this one had slight obstructions at its base, a sign that usually meant a settlement. After hours he was close enough to the pillar to make out the shapes of individual structures, conformation that life existed here, or had, he was still too far out to gauge whether or not anything was inhabiting the buildings.

After another set of hours he finally arrived at the boundary of the pillar and it's settlement. Being this close he could now quite clearly make out the outlines of humanoid figures standing wearily throughout the buildings. Though they were humanoid in shape, he could tell they were far different from himself. Their bodies were thin and long, easily towering over him by at least 3 feet.

All but one of the people were remaining near the doors of their homes. The one that had decided to approach was a female, though she still towered over Ghost, forcing him to crane his neck to make eye contact. Her face was long and drawn out, somewhat similar to her body, though it retained a much more human like structure. He couldn't gauge her age, she, and all of the other inhabitants had bland faces, with no blemishes, freckles, wrinkles, or disturbance of any kind, their expressions seemingly stuck in a permanent look of sadness.

The woman started to speak, but Ghost couldn't understand much of what she was saying. Whatever language it was, it had long been lost to the galaxy at large. He could however, make out some individual words based on the similarity and he hand gestures. Once she had stopped speaking he had a rough idea of what she had asked. It was a general question, simply put, "Who are you and what are you doing here?". Though he could not answer in full, he managed to use a few words he had heard her speak, and hand gestures to reply with a rudimentary version of "Looking for someone".

She seemed to comprehend the question decently enough, though her facial expressions hadn't changed from what they had been at the beginning of the conversation. In reply she simply gestured to the other inhabitants, communicating that there were "Someone's" here, though after brief period of scanning over them Ghost knew none of them were who he was looking for. Bowing slightly in thanks Ghost turned off at an angle, now facing west, and began walking again, leaving the tall people slightly nonplussed as they returned to their everyday tasks, never to see the stranger again. With a steady but determined pace Ghost continued onwards, his shoulders slumped in weariness as he continued towards the next pillar, then the next, and the one after that, and so on and so forth, after all, there was still searching to be done.


	3. Chapter 2 - Back to the city

The door shut behind Ghost quietly as he entered the dingy room he had rented for the night. The closed door did little to stop the sounds of the bustling Coruscant underworld outside, but he didn't mind, he hadn't come here for quality after all. Infact, he found the bustling city outside comforting, a stark contrast to the cities lowest levels where he had spent the last year.

The room itself was poorly decorated, the only furniture being a bed, and a very old looking cabinet. Through an ajar door on one side of the room he could make out the sink of what must of been a makeshift bathroom. Surprisingly, the room also had a window that was situated opposite the end of the bed. He made a mental note to check the view, but first he needed to get settled in. He approached the bed and removed his rifle, laying it lengthwise along the bed carefully. With the burden of the rifle gone, he removed his coat and tossed it to one end of the bed, where it landed in a clumped pile. He stretched a bit with the removal of his coat to loosen up some of his muscles, then placed his hands on their respective shoulders, where they came into contact with his armor. He felt round a bit for the small indent that held the release mechanisms for his armor, pulling on them gently. As soon as he pulled a quiet hiss echoed throughout the room as the back and front plates of his armor disconnected from each other and fell to the floor with a clang. He sighed in relief as the weight on his shoulders lessened,

stretching his arms comfortably, something he hadn't done for some time.

With both armor pieces gone he finally had a bit more breathing room, and as much as he hated to admit it, carrying the armor was wearing him out more than it used to, and far too much for his liking. With a sigh he crouched down to collect both pieces, stacking them atop each other and laying them on the bed next to his rifle. With his main armor gone, he also started to remove the rest of it, starting with his gauntlets. By the time he was finished, the only armor that remained on his body was his armorweave body glove, something he preferred not to take off for a multitude of reasons, foremost among them that there really wasn't any need to do so. It was comfortable enough to move in, and light enough that he barely felt it.

After a few final stretches to relax his muscles he moved to the window, standing and peering out of it carefully. The view he was met with was surprisingly pleasant, for this part of the city at least. The floor outside and the surrounding buildings were indeed fairly run down and shoddy, but the building he was in was just high enough to see out over them, giving a clear view of the glowing dystopian city for some distance. He leaned against the window thoughtfully, watching the city go about it's business. Sure he had seen prettier places in his time, planets like Naboo with their perfect natural beauty. But comparing Coruscant to Naboo, or indeed most other planets in terms of beauty was pointless. The beauty of the planet city came not from it's views, but from the knowledge that in a place like this life could thrive, despite the enormous challenges it faced.

He stared out of the window for hours, not really taking note of time as he watched the cogs of the city turn and fall into place. He could have stood there for a lot longer, but he was brought out of his trance by the sound of a commotion outside of his room. Sighing, he went out to investigate, grabbing his coat and rifle on the way to the door, putting them back on as he exited.

He scanned round for the source of the commotion, quickly laying eyes on a group of 3 men that seemed to be crowded around and kicking at couldn't see exactly who or what it was that was being assaulted, but he guessed from the cries of pain it was emitting that it was still alive. He approached the trio briskly, taking note of their armament as he approached, making no attempt to quite his steps.

As a result, one of the men turned to face him, his rough features taking on an intimidating expression, one of his hands nearing the holster for his blaster. After looking Ghost up and down and determining that he had no major weaponry apart from the rifle, the man relaxed a bit, he had nothing to fear, not when it was three to one. As he spoke his voice was also intimidating, and only slightly quieter than yelling.  
"What do you want eh? Piss off unless you want to end up like this smartass" He gestured towards the source of the pain filled yelps, which turned out to be a small, human like figure, though it was huddled up in an attempt to defend itself from the assault.

Ghost cast his eyes from the man facing him down to the victim, assessing the situation carefully from behind his mask. The rest of the trio at this point had also realized that they weren't alone thanks to their friends voice, and all 3 were now facing him with menacing looks. He looked at each one in turn, before turning back to their "leader" and speaking, keeping his voice even and calm.

"Calm now friends, no need for hostilities, I simply wish to help resolve this situation so I can rest in peace." While his words could have meant he was there to help the men, his tone was a bit too friendly for the leaders liking, who rested the palm of his hand on the grip of his blaster, and replied curtly.

"Oh? Well we don't need help, so you can fuck off back to where you came from" He said as he tightened his grip on his blaster, pulling it from it's holster ever so slightly.

Ghost hit himself mentally for his mistake, he was out of practice with lying, or anything to do with speech really. Taking that into consideration, he tried to think up a hasty plan, rambling out a rather generic phrase to try and stall. "Is there anything I can do to get you to leave?"

The leader eyed Ghost skeptically, he could guess that he was stalling, but not what for, as he didn't exactly have many options. After a few seconds of thought, and scanning over Ghost, he thought he might as well ask for the only spare thing he appeared to have on him. "Give us your rifle, then maybe we'll consider the brats debt paid"

Ghost had indeed been prepared to give over almost anything, expecting them to ask for money, or just telling him to piss off again. He hadn't however thought that they might ask for his rifle. Sure he didn't use he thing much anymore, but he had owned the weapon for some time now, it was a solid blaster, and not something he would usually have parted with. But he was willing to do it, he disliked not having a long ranged weapon at all times, but he disliked this situation more. There was also the fact that he really only carried it as a precaution these days, in fact the last time he'd fired it had been almost half a year ago.

So much to the surprise of the three men, he nodded and removed the blaster from his back, handing it over to the leader. But not before locking the safety.

After a few seconds of the group looking between each other with confused and shocked expressions, the leader took the gun, looking it up and down before slinging it over his shoulder and nodding to the other two, signaling them to step away from the body. The man then turned to Ghost, his expression still somewhat shocked, though it hardened quickly into glare as he spoke "All right then, he's all yours. Let's get out of here boys"

With that the trio departed, the leader giving the now unconscious body on the ground one more kick before laughing and disappearing into the city. After carefully watching them leave, Ghost approached the body briskly, quickly crouching down and checking for a pulse. Thankfully, there was still one there, though it was faint. Ghost was no doctor, but he had experience with healing through the force, so he set to work repairing any damage. The being itself appeared to be a human boy, by his looks probably in his mid teens.

Ghost looked round at his surroundings, this small street was hardly a place to leave him alone while he was unconscious. With that in mind Ghost picked the figure up and returned to the room he had rented, removing the armor from the bed before lying the small figure on it. He then went back to the door and shut it before turning and heading back to the same spot by the window he was at before all this had started. After casting one final glance over to the boy to make sure he was fine, he turned and looked out the window as he had before, quickly losing all sense of time as he slipped into rest mode to conserve energy. He dared not fall asleep though, he didn't want to deal with the nightmares again.


	4. Chapter 3 - Jason

Ghost was roused from his trance by the sound of quiet shuffling, followed by painful groaning. Now aware of his surroundings again he spent a few seconds looking through the window, he could tell by the light, or rather lack of it, coming from the upper levels that it was night, and he guessed about 8 hours had passed. Shaking his head slightly to fully bring his senses back, he pushed off the wall, standing up and turning to face the source of the sound.

Sure enough, it was the kid that was making them from the bed, where he was just sitting up and rubbing his head, only just beginning to check his surroundings. His eyes cast over the mostly empty room sleepily, eventually coming to rest on Ghost, causing him to jolt slightly, despite the aching feeling that had overcome his body.

Ghost watched silently as the kid scrambled back into the corner of the room, his eyes frantically searching for any type of weapon, eventually picking up one of Ghost's gauntlet armor pieces, ready to use it as a bludgeoning weapon.

The silence of the room was broken as Ghost sighed wearily, the kids spirit was admirable, but he was tired, and didn't particularly feel like dealing with this situation right now. Nevertheless, the teen ran at him with a battlecry that sounded more like a timid mouse, raising the armor above his head in both hands and going to swing at Ghost with all the force he could muster.

Even if he hadn't predicted it was going to happen, he could of reacted in time to stop it. So when the boys hand was caught in his grip on it's downwards arc, he didn't react with much strength, in a prepared attempt to not damage the boy further.

The boy himself didn't make a sound, though a shocked and scared expression was written all over his features. He took a few slow steps back, the armor still in hand, though he now realized it would be pointless as a weapon. His stance was tense as he awaited a counterattack from Ghost, but it never came, instead the man remained standing exactly where he was, not making a move, and remaining silent. The silence wasn't exactly intentional, he realized it wasn't going to help him seem any less threatening, but he simply couldn't quite think of what might be best to say. So he just stood there, rather awkwardly, and eventually the boy spoke up first, his voice wavering, but confident at the same time.

"Who are you?" He asked, giving Ghost a quick look over to try spot any weapons, but he didn't see any, as Ghost's coat was hiding both of his blasters.

"My name is Ghost" He replied a bit more quietly than he had intended to, his voice perfectly passive.

A frown creased the brow of the boy, he hadn't heard the name before, not given to a specific person in any case. So he filed the name away, but didn't pay it much heed for now.

"Where am I?" His voice had built in confidence slightly, the wavering disappearing the more he spoke

Ghost looked round the room carefully a few seconds, and the boy did the same, albeit briefly.

"In a hotel room" Ghost replied, raising his voice slightly from when he had last spoke so that he was more audible. "Not far from where those gang members were attacking you, same street in fact"

The boy blinked slightly, now he remembered what had happened. He had been running from the gang members after scuffling with them in a cantina. It hadn't been his first run in with the gang by any means, and usually he would just outrun them and disappear into the maze that the city was. This time however, that plan hadn't worked, a fact he had become aware of when he got hit in the back by a stun round. Past that he didn't remember much, just trying to shield himself from the gangs boots.

This was all information he recalled quickly, blinking a few times as he did. Once he finished remembering the unfortunate situation with a grimace, he looked at Ghost again. He still hadn't moved an inch.

With his newly remembered information, and the update Ghost had given him, he felt safe enough to relax slightly, lowering his arms which were still gripping the gauntlet. He let the gauntlet itself fall to the ground as his he took a second to gather his wits, realizing how futile his attempted attack would have been under any circumstance. He then scanned Ghost over curiously, wondering why the man had chosen to help him. He most certainly wouldn't have gotten anything out of it, but he knew the gang wouldn't have let him go either, meaning that in some capacity at least, he had Ghost to thank for what was most likely his life.

His train of thought was broken as Ghost cleared his throat quietly, nodding towards the boy.

"What's your name?" He asked, and for the first time he noticed the slight flanging effect of Ghost's voice.

"Jason" He answered bluntly, continuing to eye the man. Even if he had saved his life, he didn't trust him.

"Jason" Ghost repeated a few times, each one more quiet than the last as he made a mental note of the name, it was one he'd heard a fair few times after all, and he found it was best to remember things correctly. "I won't ask why that gang was after you, Jason. But I can guess that it was something petty" He said in an all too knowing tone.

Jason opened his mouth to protest, then realized Ghost was right and shut it again, blushing slightly in embarrassment. Then nodding in agreement.

"Right, in that case, you'd best get your stuff together, the management of this place is bound to kick me out of here soon, the time I paid for is almost up" As he spoke he began to move round the room, collecting all the armor pieces and dumping them on the bed in a single pile.

Jason watched him go about this from the corner of the room where he was standing, picking up the gauntlet he had dropped and throwing it onto the pile in an attempt to be somewhat useful. Then he properly realized what Ghost had said, and frowned, looking at him confused

"What do you mean get my stuff together? I didn't have anything else on me"

Ghost paused for a second, apparently in thought. "Oh, right. Well I think you'd best take this then, stop this happening to you again hopefully" With that he reached into his coat and removed one of his blaster pistols, flipping it round so the grip was facing towards Jason, then throwing it in a slight arc.

Jason caught the weapon deftly, looking up at Ghost incredulously, suspecting some kind of trick. So when Ghost also removed one of his holsters and chucked it to him, he couldn't quite believe it. Though for all intents and purposes Ghost was still just going about his business.

Looking away from Ghost and towards the blaster in his hand, he began to inspect it. He wasn't familiar with the model, but it looked sturdy, and well kept. Good signs for a blaster.

With a weary gaze he looked back towards Ghost, a questioning look on his face. "I-i get to keep it?" He said, trying not to sound too hopeful, though the emotion of course, slipped through.

Ghost turned to him and nodded. His mask hiding any expression he might have shown "Yes, it's yours. I think you'll need it more than me." His voice had a dismissive, off hand tone to it, apparently uninterested in the situation. In reality, Ghost had been thinking of this for some time while he had been staring out the window. Jason obviously needed something to protect himself, and knowing the usual income of people in these parts of the city, him buying one was out of the question. He could remember all too well a similar situation that he had been a part of on Nar Shaddaa some 200 years ago.

He had helped another street urchin somewhat similar to Jason, but older. He too had been attacked by a gang, though it had numbered closer to 15, as opposed to the 3 that had gone after Jason. Last time Ghost had wasted no time with diplomacy, simply dispatching the denizens, then going about helping their victim. After helping the victim back to their feet, he had patted them on the back and been on his way. Not long after that, he found out that the person he had helped had been killed at a later point.

Ghost was a much different person now than he was then. And old age, coupled with experience, had driven him to make a different choice this time round.

He looked up from his reminiscing, seeing that Jason now had the holster on his hip, with the blaster sitting snugly inside it. He nodded in approval, then looked towards his assembled armor pieces. When he had first taken them off, he had intended to put them back on again. After all, it was better to be on the safe side. But now, he simply looked at it with a grimace, somewhat dreading the thought of carrying around it's weight again, now used to the less restricted movement he was granted when he wasn't wearing the plasteel plates.

With a heavy sigh he looked at the armor, mentally saying goodbye before looking over at Jason, who was now just standing awkwardly and watching Ghost. WIth a shrug Ghost gestured to the armor pile before turning to head out the door.

Jason was once again bemused as to why the man would let him take what looked like perfectly good high quality armor, but he knew how much it would sell for, so he didn't ask twice as he swept the armor up into his arms, eventually finding a comfortable way to hold it.

Ghost then exited the room, and Jason scampered out behind him, looking round at the neon covered city round him as he did, quickly recognizing where he was.

His scan of the city was interrupted as he heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Ghost starting to walk away towards the city. Not wanting to seem impolite, he called out after Ghost. "Thank's… Ghost, or whatever your name is" His voice was genuinely thankful, though still a bit weary.

Ghost stopped and slowly turned around to look at Jason, his mind had wandered to what he was going to do next. And he had already settled on two things to do, visit an old acquaintance, then go someplace with some trees. With those plans in the back of his mind, he nodded to Jason politely. "No problem, just stay out of trouble, I won't be around to help you next time"

At that Jason nodded, then Ghost raised his hand and snapped his fingers, which for some reason unbeknownst to Jason, caused a bright flash which caused him to cover his eyes.

When he lowered his arm to restore his vision, Ghost was gone. Blinking a few times, dumbfounded, Jason rubbed his eyes. And seeing the same result, decided it was better if he didn't ask questions, after all, he had a set of armor to sell, and thinking about Ghost too much would probably just cause him a headache.

So he turned and headed for the nearest blackmarket, a slight skip in his step as he thought about all the pointless things he'd probably end up buying with the money he got from the set of armor. That would of course, be after he brought more food than he could eat in a lifetime.


	5. Chapter 4 - The Merchant

The stench of the lower levels once again filled Ghost's senses. The smell wasn't as bad here as it had been a bit lower down, but nonetheless, it wasn't pleasant. He had a job to do down here however, so he had resolved to stay. It was only a few hours since he had last spoke to Jason, but he was now much lower in the city, retracing the steps he had taken multiple times in the past. His path took him through the lower cities sprawling industrial slums, edging ever closer to a large dark spot in the distance. The spot itself was most strange, down here the lights were permanently powered, a result of them being the only light source. So a patch where all the lights were off was a rare sight.

The area itself was completely deserted, there wasn't even any buildings within it, none except for the large mass of junk at its center. The junk consisted mostly of large pieces of metal, structured almost like a mountain, it's tip soaring upwards in an attempt to make contact with the roof of the level.

He approached the dark area at a steady pace, ever aware of the strange looks he got from the areas residents that were going about their business. This was something he expected, after all, the area had an almost superstitious reputation among the communities that surrounded it. For none that entered ever returned. Some of the older members of the community might have been able to recall that Ghost had actually been here before, over 90 years ago. But he doubted they would, back then he had dressed differently, the only thing that was still the same was his mask, but that never changed.

After a few minutes of more walking he reached the edge of the dark area, and after a second of hesitation, stepped into it. Nothing happened, of course, so he continued into the darkness, dodging round piles of metal as he neared the structure at the center. He remembered where the entrance was from his last trip here, it was so small and insignificant that it could be easily overlooked as another weird metal sculpture. But if you knew the way, it was simple.

It was this entrance that Ghost laid his eyes upon as he climbed over a small pile of scrap metal, it's diminutive frame exactly the same as he had remembered it. With cautious steps he approached the makeshift portal, slipping through the shade that covered it, and finding himself in a dark, winding passage.

He started down the passage cautiously, if he wasn't welcome here anymore, this is when he'd find out. Luckily, nothing happened, and he was greeted by still air, and eerie silence as he followed the passage along. It eventually opened up into a cavernous room, it's walls, and roof constructed from metal of all shapes and sizes, each one with it's own unique place in the jigsaw that made up the room.

All round the sides of the room lay various workstations, lockers, vaults, and all kinds of display racks. The entire room was so dark that Ghost wouldn't of been able to see a thing, were it not for the dim light at the center of the room that he now stood under. He turned on the spot slowly for a while, scanning the room, but seeing nothing. The… thing, he had come to see didn't like to be seen, not at least, until it had seen you. And so Ghost called out, his voice calm, and even fairly quiet, speaking only one word.

"Merchant"

Almost instantly the sound of clanking metal came from behind him, followed by the swish of air as something jumped, landing behind him with a metallic thud. Ghost turned around and looked down, meeting the gaze of The Merchant. It was a small thing, mostly humanoid in shape, its body covered in a dirty brown poncho, an enormous bag on it's back, with spikes protruding from it. Both its arms and legs were metal, each one completely different to the next. It's face wasn't visible, hidden behind a grey mask, resembling the upper half of some flat faced predators skull. It's entire appearance was slightly uncanny, but the eyes were what really made it unnatural. They were nothing but silver pure silver, each one perfectly mirroring the other as pools of seemingly infinite knowledge and trickery.

Ghost had known this creature for a long, long time, and had probably visited it more than anyone. But even he had no idea what it was. It's shrouded body stopped him from identifying a species, and the one time he had attempted to use the force to help him understand, he had simply not understood a thing that came back. Since that day, he had been weary of The Merchant, as he would of anything he had no knowledge of.

After a pause of quiet, The Merchant made a strange clicking sound, cocking its head to the side slightly as it stared at Ghost, identifying him with a quick look of recognition, before his eyes returned to normal. "Ah, it's you again is it? Come come, tell me what it is you seek my friend" It's voice was jittery, and even somewhat delirious.

Ghost nodded slowly, not making sudden moves that might irritate the creature, something that he knew had happened in the past. When replying his own voice was it's usual quiet, low, and polite self, the unrest he felt from staring into The Merchants eyes not slipping through. "I have had a slight change in profession, so I need new gear"

The wretched thing nodded its head thoughtfully, before scampering off into the darkness, and out of Ghost's vision. The sounds of distant clattering reached his ears as The Merchant searched for something, though Ghost hadn't given any indication of what he wanted. During its search The Merchant called back to Ghost, it's voice echoing slightly within the large room, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. "Pretty things pretty things, oh I have so many pretty things, what pretty thing will I give to the lost one today?" It's words were followed by a childish giggle, then all went silent. After a few seconds, the quick patter of feet could be heard in the darkness, and The Merchant appeared in front of him once more, clutching a belt that Ghost identified as a stealth generator in one hand, and a small object that he couldn't identify yet in the other.

The Merchant extended the hand with the belt in it out towards Ghost, motioning restlessly for him to take it, his head bobbing encouragingly. "Take it, TAKE IT! Will help with prying eyes, yes it will" The shout came suddenly, causing Ghost to wince slightly as the loud sound echoed throughout the room.

He reached down and took the belt, strapping it on round his waist under his coat. He then decided to give it a test run, activating it and watching as his body seemingly disappeared. The Merchant eyed him the whole time, making an irritated clicking sound. Deactivating the device, Ghost looked down to The Merchant again, nodding appreciatively. "Thank you, I think it will serve me well"

"Of course it will, wouldn't have given it to you if it wouldn't, STUPID ONE. Sorry, shouldn't shout, scares the birdies away" The Merchant then proceeded to open its second hand, revealing a small hunk of metal, carved into the shape of what seemed to be an owl. The carving was crude, but recognizable, something a child would make.

Ghost took the item from the waiting hand of The Merchant, inspecting it closely before depositing it into his pocket, next to the other metal trinket he possessed. The Merchant remained quiet throughout this process, though it waited eagerly for it's payment. Seeing this, Ghost quickly produced a model toy from his pocket. The model was a stormtrooper, E-11 in one hand, with the other raised towards the sky in a fist of triumph. The Merchant clapped happily, snatching the toy from Ghost's hands and scampering back off into the darkness.

Turning briskly, Ghost headed back through the passage that had brought him into the room, it was time to leave. After The Merchant accepted payment, that was it, there was no chance of further bartering or trade, and he hated to think what might happen if one tried to continue such things. But for now at least, he had everything he needed, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to return to this place for a long time.

From its perch, The Merchant watched Ghost leave, then giggled gleefully and scuttled down the wall till it reached a small concealed opening. It scuttled through the opening, emerging into a small room on the other side of it. The room itself was almost completely empty, the only notable things being a small table, and a ledge next to it, which led down into a dark abyss.

The creature approached the table, setting the toy stormtrooper down on it incredibly carefully. Then it scrambled off for a few seconds, returning with another figurine, this one in the crude shape of The Merchant himself. He set it down on the table, opposite to the stormtrooper, then got a good grip and started animating a small fight with both. He would jolt the stormtrooper round a bit, making blaster noises and moving his own figurine to evade. He did this for a few minutes, but then imagined one of the blaster bolts hitting his figurine, and let it fall to the table.

With his own figurine defeated, he raised the stormtrooper up into the air victoriously.

Then without warning, he slammed the trooper down into the table viciously, shattering it into pieces, but that didn't stop him. He continued to smash the toy into the table until it barely even resembled its original form, an unnatural scream of rage bursting forth and echoing throughout the room at the same time. With the toy destroyed, he swept its remains off the table and into the dark abyss in a rage, watching them fall into the darkness, until eventually it landed on a pile of toys in similar states. Each toy was different, next to the stormtrooper lay a clone and a few battle droids, next to them, Jedi. The pile faltered slightly, a few of the topmost toys toppling down the slope, passing countless other toys on it's way, a Sith warrior, a Je'daii, a Rakatan. One by one the falling piece passed them, until finally it landed on the ground.

Up above, the screams of The Merchant still echoed, it's shrill cries unfaltering in their hatred for that small little toy. But amongst the screams, it would shout out one phrase over and over. "I always win. I always win! I ALWAYS WIN!"


	6. Chapter 5 - Departure

The sun lazily rose above the horizon of Coruscant's uppermost layer, it's rays stretching out over the teeming mass of metal and electricity. Ghost sat watching it rise from the waiting area of a large spaceport. As the light hit him, he was forced to raise his arm to protect his eyes, and let them adjust. This was after all the first time he'd actually seen the sun in over a year, and such sudden exposure was unusual. He lowered his arm after a few minutes, he was by no means used to the bright glare yet, but he had adjusted enough that he didn't need to directly block it, though he angled his head down so not as much light pierced through the visors of his mask.

To further avoid direct confrontation with the sun, he turned his head side to side to take in his surroundings, something he hadn't really done before, he had been too distracted waiting for the sun to rise. The spaceport was as busy as always, space liners coming and going, bringing, and taking passengers all over Imperial Space. The passengers themselves came in all types, Coruscanti businessman traveling to the other core worlds, Tourists with all their souvenirs, and scattered here and there, the odd outlier that couldn't quite be placed. Ghost fell into the latter category, after all, he hardly blended in among the populace of the spaceport. He didn't really care though, he had come here to see the sunrise, and a few odd glances from passers by wasn't enough to deter him.

That wasn't his real reason for being here though, it was after all a spaceport, and not a viewing platform. The cruiser he was set to travel on was soon to arrive, it was smaller than a lot of the enormous cruisers that dotted the spaceport. Ghost didn't mind though, it had been the only ship heading to Kiros from this port, and not wanting to wait longer, he'd booked a spot onboard. Ghost pulled the owl trinket given to him by The Merchant from his pocket, studying it again. He knew from past experience that The Merchant didn't just give trinkets like this out without reason, whether the creature knew it or not. From memory, the only creature he had heard of that resembled the trinket was the Kiros bird, a creature aptly found on the planet Krios. Ghost hadn't been to Kiros before, in fact he hadn't even known the bird was named after its home planet.

As such, this was uncharted territory for Ghost, and he couldn't help the feeling of excitement that adventure usually brought on. He did wonder, however, how much of a change it would be for him. Having spent the last year surrounded by nothing but metal, he was unsure if his gear would actually suit the more wild environment of the planet he would soon be on. Foremost example of this being his dark clothing. While useful for disappearing amidst Coruscant's shadows, it was a nightmare in constant exposure to direct sunlight. As such, he hoped the border world had a market where he could get something more appropriate, if not, well he'd have to deal with it.

At that moment the sound of repulsors above heralded the arrival of Ghost's cruiser. Wanting to be as prompt as possible about it, Ghost stood and made his way to the boarding gate for the ship, arriving mere seconds after the ship itself. It was a decent looking vessel, a bit of mismatched paint or paneling here and there, but it looked sturdy and reliable, and from the small amount of people queing up with him, he guessed it would be fairly roomy onboard. Unsurprisingly, the other lined up passengers were not tourists or businessmen, who would have most nothing to do on the frontier world. Instead they were all dressed in more shabby, and practical clothing, most carrying visible weapons. Infact, Ghost was probably possessed less weapons than anyone else, most having rifles or the like slung over their backs.

Not wanting to stare too much, Ghost looked away from his fellow passengers and towards the opening boarding ramp of the cruiser.

Standing at the top of the ramp as it opened was the captain, dressed in a baggy jumpsuit, overtop of which was a beige trench coat, along with a large cowboy hat that sat atop his grey hair. He beckoned for the waiting group to make their way up the ramp, holding his hand out to take the appropriate sum of credits that he was to be paid by each one. As he held his hand out he didn't pay much attention to Ghost as he approached, simply grunting in recognition as the credit chit was dropped into his hand. He hadn't asked for identification, instead he was busy watching the space port with a keen eye for any suspicious activity, you couldn't be too careful after all.

Eventually all the passengers had found their way on board after paying the sum, following the ships boarding corridor until they arrived in a decently sized lounge area, from which a multitude of other corridors started. Soon after they had all assembled the mechanical sound of the boarding ramp closing echoed down the corridor, followed by the sound of boots as the captain too made his way into the lounge area, stopping in front of the assembled group and clearing his throat.

"Alright listen up will you. As most of you have probably guessed already, I'm the captain, names Logan. Now, meals will be served here in the lounge area twice a day, and don't expect anything flash. Most of you will have your own rooms, but four of you will need to double up, though it looks like we already have our first pair" He said with a rather pointed glance at what looked to be a couple. "Off limit areas are the engine room, reactor room, and anything else that sounds important. Have I made myself clear?"

The group all proceeded to nod as the captain finished his rundown, none of them speaking a word, creating a bit of an awkward silence in the room. With the knowledge that his passengers knew the basics, the captain headed off towards the bridge, stopping and turning on his heel just before he passed through the door to the bridge. "Almost forgot, Joey here will show you to your rooms"

He gestured with his hands towards another corridor before turning and heading to the bridge. From the corridor he had gestured to came one of the most curious droids Ghost had ever seen. It had the body of a Droideka, but where it would have originally had laser cannons, it now possessed a pair of large humanoid hands. The rest of the droids original chassis was mostly intact, though it's paint had been redone so that it now had a yellow and orange color scheme. The most strange part, however, was what sat on its head. The thing in question was a bright gold mohawk of fake hair, and while it wasn't too tall, it still wobbled as the droid moved.

It walked over to the group slowly, raising it's right hand in a wave, then pointing towards one of the corridors leading outwards from the lounge room. Then it spoke, something Ghost hadn't been expecting. It's voice resembled that of a B1's, in the fact that it was high pitched, and immensely irritating, though the accent seemed different, more similar to that of a clone.

"Come on, follow this way" It said, causing a few of the group to glance between each other in surprise.

The droid then tucked up into its ball form and started rolling down the corridor it had pointed towards. Tentatively, the group began to follow, Ghost coming last so that he could get a good look at his fellow passengers. There was 7 of them including himself, the couple he had noted previously who took a room together. A large, grey trandoshan, who took his own room, barely squeezing through the door on his way in. A human male, the soldier looking type, rough beard, scars, the like, who like the Trandoshan took his own room. The last person to take their own room was a blue skinned Nautolan lady that, Ghost noted, hadn't made a single sound since they got on the ship, not even when walking.

The door to the last room was open, and remembering what the captain had said, Ghost expected that whoever he would be sharing a room with was already in there. He walked over to the doorway, thanking the Joey the droid who was on his way back to the lounge with a nod of his head. Then he headed through into his room. The last member of the group was already there as expected, seemingly unpacking his bag. The man himself was wearing a full set of clone armor on his upper body, overlaid by a hooded poncho .The lower half of the armor was more widespread, as it was laying over the pair of combat trousers he had on.

One of his weapons, a blaster rifle, was already laying on his bed, along with a blaster pistol. His third weapon was a bit more unusual, a longsword in its scabbard, which ran across his back at a slight angle.

After his quick look at the mans gear, Ghost headed over to his own bed, then started removing his less critical gear from his pockets and depositing it into a drawer. He then stretched for a while, before lying down on his bed tiredly. It certainly wasn't the most comfortable bed ever, but it wasn't half bad, and certainly comfortably for him to fall asleep in. He didn't want to sleep, but he hadn't for a long time now, and he could feel the toll it was taking on his body. So he let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and waited for his mind to descend into the closest thing he could get to a good night's sleep.


End file.
